Yes. The blockchain data can be viewed in different ways with third-party tools such as steemd.com and steemdb.com.

How often does the Steem blockchain produce a new block?

The Steem blockchain schedules witnesses to produce a new block every 3 seconds. 21 witness nodes produce 21 blocks in each 63-second round.

What is the difference between Proof of Work, Proof of Stake, and Delegated Proof of Stake?

Proof of work – Miners solve a complex mathematical problem. The miner that solves the problem first adds the block to the blockchain. The network rewards the miner for doing so.

Proof of stake – Requires ownership, or stake, in the cryptocurrency. The more tokens you own, the more block creation power you have. Benefits: eliminates the need for expensive mining rigs, runs on a tiny fraction of the power, and it requires block producers to have a stake in the network.

Delegated proof of stake – Block-creating accounts, called witnesses, are collectively approved by Steem stakeholders. Instead of relying on proof of work to find blocks, the Steem network actively schedules these accounts to improve the time between blocks to 3 seconds.

How is Steem different from Bitcoin?

On a technical level, the two networks rely on the same model of a blockchain, but are built upon different technologies and codebase. Steem is based on a new state-of-the-art blockchain technology called Graphene, which uses “witnesses” instead of “miners” to produce blocks.

The “delegated proof of stake” model of using witnesses instead of miners allows for greater efficiency in block production. With BTC, 100% of the new coins that are created are allocated to block producers (miners). With the Steem blockchain, only 10% of the new coins are paid to block producers (witnesses). The other 90% of new STEEM coins are awarded to content producers, curators, and Steem Power holders.

What is the difference between Steem and Steemit?

Steem is the name of the blockchain that stores all of the data and transactions, and processes all of the events that take place. STEEM is also a name for the system’s value token (currency).

Steemit is a front end web interface to interact with the blockchain, and view the blockchain data. Steemit, Inc. is also the name of the company that owns and operates the website steemit.com.

How does bandwidth work on the Steem blockchain?

Since transacting on the Steem blockchain has zero fees, bandwidth rate-limiting is employed to safeguard the blockchain from spam attacks. Every action that you take on the blockchain will consume a small amount of bandwidth. This includes posting, commenting, voting, transferring tokens, etc. Viewing content does not consume bandwidth.

Every user has a limited amount of bandwidth to use each week. The more transactions a user does, the less bandwidth they will have left (until it recharges). Users with more Steem Power will have a higher bandwidth allowance.

Normally everyone’s bandwidth allowance is quite high, and users are able to use the network freely without any interruptions. Sometimes when the blockchain becomes busy however (due to heavy use), everyone’s individual allowances may go down until the network becomes less busy.

If users are below their bandwidth limit, they will be unable to transact with the blockchain until their bandwidth recharges or their limit is raised.

If you get an error that you have exceeded your bandwidth allowance, it is normally best to just wait and try again later (when it is less busy). Usually if you wait and try again later, the transaction will likely go through.

If you are unable to transact for extended periods of time, or you are frequently running into bandwidth limits, then you will either need to reduce your usage to stay within your limit, or purchase more Steem Power for your account through a third-party exchange such as BlockTrades.

What is the Steem blockchain?

The Steem blockchain is the publicly accessible distributed database, which records all posts and votes, and distributes the rewards across the network. It is where all of the text content and voting data is stored, and it is where all of the reward calculations and payouts are performed.

Developers

What is available for developers interested in Steem?

Many software engineers are currently leveraging the open-source code to build their applications on Steem. There are more than sixty so far.

The Steem Developer Portal also contains documents and resources for developing tools and applications for the Steem blockchain.

Is there a Github page for the Steem blockchain?

https://github.com/steemit/steem

Are the Steem blockchain and steemit.com code open-source?

Yes. Steem blockchain is an open-source project.

Developers should however avoid the use of the term “Steemit” in their own products, and instead refer to the Steem Blockchain or Steem Platform. Steemit refers to steemit.com, which is owned by Steemit, Inc.

Disclaimer

Third Party References and User Links

AnonSteem, Binance, bitcoinfees, Bitcointalk, Bithumb, BitShares, Bittrex, blockchain.info, BlockTrades, Busy.org, Changelly, @cheetah, Coinbase, DTube, GOBADA, GOPAX, HitBTC, Huobi, LocalBitcoinCash, Localbitcoins, Markdown Cheatsheet, Pexels, Pixabay, Poloniex, Postimage, Shapeshift.io, Steemcleaners, SteemConnect, SteemCreate, steemd, SteemDB, steem.chat, SteemStats, SteemProjects, Streemian, The Steemit Shop, UpBit, Utopian.io, Vessel, and Yensesa are third party applications/services, and are not owned or maintained by Steemit, Inc. Their listing here, as well as any other third party applications or websites that are listed, does not constitute and endorsement or recommendation on behalf of Steemit, Inc.

All links to user posts were created by our users and do not necessarily represent the views of Steemit, Inc. or its management. Their listing here does not constitute and endorsement or recommendation on behalf of Steemit, Inc.

Please use the third party tools and content at your own risk.

Economics

Where do the new STEEM tokens come from?

Blockchains like Steem and Bitcoin produce new tokens each time a block is produced. Unlike Bitcoin, where all of the new coins go to the block producers (called miners), the Steem blockchain allocates a majority of the new tokens to a reward fund called the “rewards pool”. The rewards pool gives users tokens for participating in the platform based on the value they add.

How long does it take to transfer STEEM or SBD tokens between users?

A transfer of tokens between accounts typically takes 3 seconds. This is far faster than most blockchain tokens.

Are there fees for Powering Up, Powering Down, trading on the internal market, or converting SBD to STEEM?

No. None of these actions incur any fees.

How much are the transaction fees for sending tokens to other users?

There are never any fees for transfers within the Steem network. However, if you transfer Steem to an exchange and convert it to another currency, you may incur a small fee from the exchange.

Will I get a 1099 from Steemit?

No, you are not being paid by Steemit. The Steem network rewards you. It is your responsibility to determine what, if any, taxes apply to the transactions you make. Further, it is your responsibility to report and remit the correct tax to the appropriate tax authority. By creating an account, you agree that Steemit, Inc. is not responsible for determining whether taxes apply to your Steem transactions, or for collecting, reporting, withholding, or remitting any taxes arising from any Steem transactions.

How can I withdraw my STEEM or SBD coins?

STEEM and SBD tokens are readily tradable to bitcoin, which can be traded for the local currency of your choice. There is a link to “Sell” your STEEM and SBD tokens in your wallet, which uses the BlockTrades interface.

There are several guides that have been posted by users in the community for using various external exchanges to withdraw STEEM and SBD tokens. Please read the disclaimer before using any of these guides to withdraw your coins. The users, guides, and exchanges listed in the guides are not endorsed by Steemit, Inc. Use the guides below at your own risk.

It is recommended that you withdraw a small amount first, to verify it works before withdrawing a larger amount.

Convert STEEM to many other cryptocurrencies via ShapeShift

Other than making a post and making sales manually, there is no interface for selling items directly on steemit.com. You can list goods and services on the third-party websites and accept payment in Steem Dollars or STEEM. You also have the option to advertise your items through Steemit posts.

What is a MVEST?

A VEST is a unit of measurement for Steem Power. A MVEST is one million VESTS. The amount of Steem Power in one MVEST can be found on steemd.com as steem_per_mvests.

What can I do with my SBD tokens?

Convert to STEEM via your wallet (takes 3.5 days)

Exchange for STEEM in the internal market

Withdraw to an exchange, and trade for BTC or other digital tokens

Purchase items through third-party stores that accept SBD tokens

What can I do with my STEEM tokens?

“Power Up” to Steem Power

Exchange for SBD in the internal market

Withdraw to an exchange, and trade for BTC or other digital tokens

Purchase items through third-party stores that accept STEEM tokens

General

Where can I ask for help if my question was not answered here?

If you post your question in the #help channel on steem.chat, the users there may be able to help.

You can also create a post on steemit.com with the tag #help, and someone in the community may be able to answer it.

What is the Steem Whitepaper and what is its purpose?

The Steem Whitepaper was written to describe the mechanics of the token system that makes decentralized content incentives and distribution possible in a way that can improve web technologies across the board. It is also applicable to Steemit, the first website to plug into the Steem blockchain. Users who have read the Steem Whitepaper will better understand how their interactions with Steemit are interactions with Steem, the decentralized network.

Security

How do I report a security vulnerability?

If you find a security issue please report the details to security@steemit.com.

How does the stolen account recovery process work?

If your password has been changed without your consent, then the account designated as your recovery account can generate a new owner key for the account. The account recovery must be completed within 30 days of the password being changed, and you must supply a recent owner key that was valid within the last 30 days.

Steemit Inc. owns the default recovery account (@steem) for all users who sign up using steemit.com. Steemit can only identify users by their original email, Facebook, or Reddit logins that were used to signup via steemit.com.

If you don’t have the master password or owner key that was valid the past 30 days, or are unable to prove that you are the original owner of the account, then your account will be unrecoverable.

The stolen account recovery process can only restore ownership of the account. It is not possible to recover funds that were stolen.

What should I do if I discover that someone hacked my account?

If you made your account through Steemit and it is compromised, immediately visit the Stolen Account Recovery page. This link is also available in the main site menu. You will need to provide the email address that you used when you signed up, your account name, and a master password that was used in the last 30 days.

Are my STEEM and Steem Dollar tokens insured in the event of a hack or if someone takes over my account?

No, liquid tokens can not be taken back if stolen or sent to the wrong account.

If your tokens are in Steem Power, it is impossible for a hacker to take out more than 1/13 per week. If your tokens are in savings, there is a three-day wait period for them to become transferable.

What do I do if I lost my password/keys?

There is no way to recover your account if you lose your password or owner key! Because your account has real value, it is very important that you save your master password somewhere safe where you will not lose it.

It is strongly recommended that you store an offline copy of your password somewhere safe in case of a hard drive failure or other calamity. Consider digital offline storage, such as an external disk or flash drive, as well as printed paper. Use a safe deposit box for best redundancy.

What are my different keys for?

Posting key – The posting key allows accounts to post, comment, edit, vote, resteem, and follow or mute other accounts. Most users should be logging into Steemit every day with the posting key. You are more likely to have your password or key compromised the more you use it so a limited posting key exists to restrict the damage that a compromised account key would cause.

Active key – The active key is meant for more sensitive tasks such as transferring funds, power up/down transactions, converting Steem Dollars, voting for witnesses, updating profile details and avatar, and placing a market order.

Memo key – Currently the memo key is not used.

Owner key – The owner key is only meant for use when necessary. It is the most powerful key because it can change any key of an account, including the owner key. Ideally it is meant to be stored offline, and only used to recover a compromised account.

Why is the master password a long string of gibberish?

The password has to be long and random for maximum account security.

Why should I be careful with my master password?

The master password is used to derive all keys for your account, including the owner key. If someone has access to your master password, they can steal your account and all of the tokens in it.

How can I keep my Steem account secure?

Save your master password and keep it somewhere safe.

Only log into your account using the key with the appropriate permissions for what you are doing:

Posting key for every day logins

Active key when necessary for transfers, power ups, etc.

Master password or owner key when changing the password

Again, save your master password and keep it safe! If logging in with your post key, make sure you don’t overwrite or misplace your original master password.

It is not recommended to share your password or keys with any third party site. Steemit Inc. is developing a login application that can be used on third party Steem front ends.

Steem

Can I invest in Steem?

Steemit, Inc. is a privately held company and is not available for public investment.

Though not considered an investment, you can purchase STEEM tokens which can go up or down in value. You can power up these tokens into Steem Power, which grants more influence in the Steem platform.

Witnesses

How can I vote for witnesses?

Each account can vote for up to 30 witnesses.

What are Steem witnesses?

The Steem blockchain requires a set of people to create blocks and uses a consensus mechanism called delegated proof of stake, or DPOS. The community elects ‘witnesses’ to act as the network’s block producers and governance body. There are 20 full-time witnesses, producing a block every 63-second round. A 21st position is shared by the backup witnesses, who are scheduled proportionally to the amount of stake-weighted community approval they have. Witnesses are compensated with Steem Power for each block they create.